#Campaign – Les Benjamins is an Istanbul-based platform – encompassing a retail-space and lifestyle brand for men and women – founded in 2011 by Bünyamin Aydin. Les Benjamins’ apparel collections are currently stocked globally indoors like Harvey Nichols, Antonioli, Saks 5th Avenue and more.
Les Benjamins started humbly with 30 printed T-shirts, a project which later garnered Aydin an invitation to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul, and later Milan Fashion Week. Les Benjamins represents a vision of the contemporary East. “We are a platform of how we want the East to be today,” notes Aydin. Les Benjamins’ rangefinder logo speaks to perspective, and how the brand interprets the East from a unique point-of-view. tr.lesbenjamins.com
Wild, Wild East
The A/W 2020 collection is imbued with the strong energy of youth and young adulthood. Stored in the mythology of its Turkish roots, the meditative soul of Anatolian rock music is born: an Eastern vision of a consciousness-expanding Western phenomenon. Both in detail and in scope, the collection marks an irrefutable development within the universe of Les Benjamins and magnifies Aydin’s vision of men’s and women’s clothing into a richly handcrafted, diverse contemporary collection.
Personal milestones perpetuate reflection, and for Les Benjamins, creative director Bunyamin Aydin, three decades on this earth are cause for celebration. Teen dreams of rock n’ roll stardom have become distant memories yet inflect the Autumn Winter 2020 collection with the potent energy of youth and young adulthood. Bunkered in the mythology of his Turkish roots, the meditative soul of Anatolian rock music emerges An Eastern vision of a mind-expanding Western phenomenon. In both detail and scope, the collection marks an irrefutable evolution within the Les Benjamins universe, magnifying Aydin’s vision of men’s and womenswear to encompass a diverse contemporary wardrobe and accessories collection with a rich hand.
Merging directional and casual pieces with authentic techniques and new fabric developments, subtle nods to Anatolian culture can be found throughout in colours that warm from icy grey and pale corn yellow through pomegranate and denim blue. The red tulips of Istanbul are traced in thread embroidery across velvet or printed over cotton shirting, and the signature Les Benjamins carpet motif becomes jacquard knit dresses, scarves, and plush sweaters. A dusted flocking mimics a tapestry effect in soft mustard across grey wool suiting and outerwear, as intarsia knits and prints evoke Mount Nemrut and the Kakar mountains. In a collage of textiles, the contoured panels of sleeves and trousers recall the psychedelic graphics of 70s vinyl covers. Rock tropes continue in archetypal details and silhouettes, from smooth leather trench coats to a bootcut leg, fringed sleeve trims, and the glam touch of appliqué crystal or shaggy fake fur.
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